The Moody Blues, "On the Threshold of a Dream" (Deram, 1969)

Back in the day, the Moody Blues represented something of a cross between really cool music and something that your parents might not object to hearing. The Moodys never seemed to get heavy enough to bother anyone of the other generation, but somehow it still sounded good to a listener who had just finished with, say, Led Zeppelin.

"On the Threshold of a Dream" represented the third album of the Moodys' "classic" lineup, the one that put the orchestra on "Days of Future Passed" and launched what we know as progressive rock. By the time of "Dream," the five members were playing their own instruments, Mike Pinder's mellotron work providing all the symphonic sounds needed.

My own introduction to the album came as a youngster at an older friend's house. He had an upscale sound system. The opening track, "In the Beginning," is one of the Moody's poetic forays, and this one makes full use of stereo, shifting between speakers as a poor soul ponders his reason for being, and a supernatural-sounding type gives him an answer, more or less. Heady stuff.

From there, the album launches into a series of Moody Blues-type atmospheric pieces, including the popular "Lovely to See You" and "Never Comes the Day." My favorite is the minor-key but upbeat "Dear Diary," featuring hazily processed vocals and some catchy Ray Thomas woodwinds.

The main reason for the album's being is the epic suite that closes it. "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" asks the musical question for what's to follow: the aptly named poem "The Dream" and two parts of the song "Have You Heard" sandwiching "The Voyage," an instrumental showcasing Pinder on the piano this time around. (Mike left the Moodys in the '70s, and they haven't been the same since.)

So relax, fire up some incense, and enjoy this particular voyage for 45 minutes or so. Now that you're as old as your parents were then, maybe you'll like it twice as much.